Severe Headaches in a 7 year old

Every couple of months my 7 year old sister gets a headache "attack" she becomes very pale and complains of a headache. She will spend most of the day on the couch until she finally throws up and then her headache is gone and she's running around laughing and playing like nothing happened. Her episodes are becoming more frequent she has had two this month and the last episode she threw up 6 times before she felt better. Does anyone know what this might be?

[twitchychick]

Your sister sounds a lot like my son.  He is only 9 but has been having migraines for a few years.  He becomes very pale, he has dark circles under his eyes and he almost always vomits. Finally he falls asleep and after he wakes up, it's like it never even happened.  We've had a lot of mri's and other tests but they are all ok.  I have migraines and my sister and father do too.  A doctor explained it to me this way...."pediatric migraines are similar yet different to adult migraine.  When a child has these symptoms, the best thing for them is to sleep.  It gives their brain a chance to "reboot" and start over, thus ending the migraine cycle."  

My son's headaches were really frequent for a while and we finally realized that his triggers were bright sunlight and not eating breakfast, among others.  We make sure we have lots of sunglasses in the car and I make him eat every morning.  They are not so frequent now and if he feels one coming I give him an ibuprofen, 200 mg.  It usually does the trick.  It's not every day or even every week now.  Just every so often.

I hope your sister is doing better.  If I can help or if you have questions, just let us know.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How is your sister? Avoidance of triggers as mentioned above is one important management of migraine, both in adults and children. Both preventive and abortive medications may also help provide relief. Cyclic vomiting syndrome are usually associated with migraine in children. Discuss this with her attending physician for proper management. Take care and do keep us posted.